Table of contents for 18 January 2024 in Chat

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CREW NECKS STYLE TIP Inject some fun when choosing classic crew necks by picking colourful ones in jazzy prints. Pair with a slip skirt. ROLL-NECKS STYLE TIP A snuggly roll-neck is a winter essential. Offset the oversized fit and pair with skinny jeans or leather-look leggings. CARDIGANS STYLE TIP The button-up version is a handy layering tool. A V-shaped neckline will flatter your bust or opt for a statement collar for interest. DRESSES FROM £12 STYLE TIP Cosy and glam, look for built-in belts or add one yourself to give definition to your waist.…

Lyndsay Williams, 41, Preston Gently lying my newborn boy in his crib, I groaned with pain. It's getting worse again, I thought, feeling frustrated. It was 2010, and I'd had a tricky year, to say the least. My beloved grandfather had died just a few months before I'd given birth. And while I was besotted with my beautiful son, dealing with my grief and new motherhood was taking its toll. The chronic neck pain I'd had since my early 20s was flaring up again. I'd been in a car accident, suffered whiplash. True-life PATIENT CASEBOOK I'd tried physiotherapy, rheumatology, steroid injections and pain patches. But exercise had always been the best remedy. Trouble was, it was hard to find time with a newborn. And not much easier when he was a…

ARROW WORD WIN £500 Puzzle 10 Which Christian martyr is the patron saint of soldiers, athletes and the city of Rio de Janeiro? Solve the puzzle by following the arrows and writing in your answers. Then read down the letters in the shaded squares to find the prize answer. Your answer: SUDOKU To solve the puzzle, each 3 × 3 box, each row and each column must contain the numbers 1 to 9. Solve the puzzle and the numbers in the highlighted squares will give you the prize puzzle answer. WIN 2x £30 Puzzle 11 Your answer: WORDSEARCH WIN £40 Puzzle 12 Name the film Whitney Houston made her final screen appearance in before her death in 2012. The answer is the one missing from the grid. CALIPPO CHOC ICE CORNETTO FAB FEAST ICE POP JUBBLY MAGNUM ROCKET SOLERO SPARKLE SPLIT TWISTER ZAPP ZOOM…

He's got a secret wife Q I met a man online who I have fallen in love with. We have always got on so well and chatted every single day. Then I found out that he's married. I confronted him, and he completely cut me off and blocked me. I'm so heartbroken and can't stop crying. I have no way to contact him, and I don't know what to do. Viv, 52 A I'll tell you what to do, my love. Pop down the shop, get some choc, put on a weepy movie and cry it out. Then wake up the next morning and think about what a lucky escape you've had. This man has told you exactly who he is. And that's someone who is not worth any more of…

MONEY MATTERS 3 ways to… save cash in 2024 Want to tighten your belt this year? Here are some top tips. 1 Have no-spend weekends Challenge yourself to have a weekend each month when you cut out all unnecessary spending. You may be able to find ways to entertain yourself without needing to pay a penny by checking your local tourism website. For example visitmanchester.com lets you filter for free things to do, while there's also a nationwide list at visitengland.com/things-to-do/free. And don't overlook the benefits of enjoying the great outdoors; if you're looking for inspiration, check the ‘Find a walk near you’ section at wildlifetrusts.org. You could also see if there's a Parkrun (parkrun.org.uk) in your area; these are free, weekly 5km runs (that you can jog or walk if you prefer). The…

TRUE-LIFE Martine Bernard was a 20-yearold newlywed and six months pregnant. An exciting time for any woman. She and her new husband, Cassandritz Blanc, then 22, had married in October 2017, and recently moved into a new flat together in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Now, in June 2018, they were busy preparing for their new arrival. A little boy they planned to name Cassandritz Jr. Early on the morning of Saturday 9 June, Cassandritz popped over to Martine's parents 25-minutes away in Hollywood, Florida. Told them he had to collect some clothes for his wife from her childhood bedroom. His in-laws, Roosevelt and Yvrose Bernard, were getting ready to go to a family party. Yvrose left the two men chatting while she went for a shower. Only, when she came out,…

Beth Mepham, 36, from Truro Your fave thing to do over a cuppa? There's nothing I love more than sitting around the kitchen table with my family on a Sunday, catching up and sharing stories with a cup of tea and biscuits. What was the last concert you went to? My son is a big Beatles fan, so my last concert was taking him to see The Bootleg Beatles. Do you have a party trick? Not a party trick as such. However, I can sing the entire rap from Will Smith's Wild Wild West at a moment's notice. I learned it when I was 13, and I think it's pretty impressive to still recall it 23 years later! JOIN IN! Chat is proud to work with The Chatty Cafe Scheme,…

WIN £1,001 Puzzle 4 THE BIGGIE At a festival performance this summer, what was passed to singer Anne-Marie by a member of the audience? To find out, solve the crossword then read down the shaded squares to find the four-word prize answer. ACROSS 11 Actor, _ Bonham Carter (6) 12 Surgical procedure (9) 13 Country in South America (4) 14 Spring flower (8) 15 Additional (5) 16 Bugsy _, musical film (6) 17 All over the place (7) 18 Children's novel about a horse (5,6) 20 Own up (5) 22 Administrative worker (9) 24 Soft fruit with a stone (5) 28 Game, _ and crosses (7) 29 Slow-moving ice river (7) 32 Polite word of request (6) 34 Timetable (8) 36 Chemical element with the symbol N (8) 37 Made money (6) 39 Be worthy of (7) 40 First letter (7) 45 Places to sit (5) 47 Quarrels (9) 48 Part of…

Help! Sex is a pain Q There's a lump in my vagina that hurts during sex. During my smear a nurse said it was a Bartholin's cyst, will it get better? Jo, Richmond A Bartholin' cysts are common and harmless though can be a nuisance if they start to hurt through sex or everyday movements, or they become infected. Beside the entrance to your vagina sit two glands called Bartholin's glands, one on either side, which make lubricating fluid. Occasionally one gland can become blocked and fill with fluid to form a swelling, a Bartholin's cyst, inside your vagina or your vagina lip. Any lump in that area should be checked, to rule out other causes, but many Bartholin's cysts don't cause symptoms and don't need any treatment. However a…

Kathryn Knock, 39, Norfolk Slipping on my muddy riding boots after school, I couldn't wait to get to my local stables. It was spring 2000 and, aged 16, I adored animals, especially horses. ‘We've got a surprise for you,’ my mum Angela, then 55, grinned, as we arrived. ‘What is it?’ I asked, excitement fizzing as I followed her to one of the pens. ‘This is Henry,’ she smiled. A tall brown horse with a white stripe down his nose stood at the fence. ‘He's yours,’ Mum said. ‘To keep?’ I gasped, stroking his soft fur. Mum nodded. It was love at first sight. After that, when I wasn't revising for my GCSEs, I was with Henry. Mucking out his stables, grooming him, or riding him out in the countryside.…

After four years together, Zoe and her partner Matt can't keep their hands off one another. ‘This is love,’ says Zoe. ‘Being happy with somebody.’ She adores Matt, 36, and as he scoops her up and swings her around their kitchen in Cambridgeshire, the feeling is clearly mutual. ‘We have so much fun. We enjoy each other's company,’ she says. But the secret to their relationship is something others find shocking. They both have sex with other people. It was Matt's idea initially. Early on in their relationship, he suggested to Zoe that she could start sleeping with other men. For him, this was a way to create honesty in their partnership. ‘I was happy with it,’ Matt says. PHOTOS: FUTURE STUDIOS ‘I'd constantly been cheated on and things like…

12-18 January 2024 Aries 21 March-20 April Spend some time on inner reflection. By practising meditation and embracing solitude you'll be able to set clear, heart-centred intentions for the year ahead. ● Call 0905 817 0690* for more Taurus 21 April-21 May Now that Jupiter, planet of luck and expansion, is moving forward in your sign again, it is a good time to network and develop new social connections. Enjoy! ● Call 0905 817 0691* for more Gemini 22 May-21 June Have you been using your creative talents much recently? If not, now is the time to channel your unique gifts, explore new hobbies and express yourself. ● Call 0905 817 0692* for more Cancer 22 June-23 July Focusing on your home and family this week will bring the nurturing…

Q I'm trying to cut down on salon treatments – how can I shape my brows at home? Lesley Adams, Brighton A Salon trips can be an expensive treat, so it's no wonder that so many of us are now turning to DIY jobs at home. Luckily, there are so many brow-shaping products on the market that are easy to use and look just as good as the professional job. Start off taming and shaping your brows with Brush Works Defining Brow Set, £12, Next. Brush up the hairs and trim any longer ones with scissors. For any stragglers beneath the arch, it's best to carefully remove them one at a time with tweezers. If you have light or greying eyebrows, then bring them back to life by using an at-home…

Puzzle 2 Unesco Puzzle 3 Ballad Puzzle 4 Their Whatsapp book club Puzzle 5 Pore Puzzle 6 Faust Puzzle 7 Fearne Cotton Puzzle 8 Crash helmet Puzzle 9 1A,1D,2A,3B,4D Puzzle 10 Candlemas Puzzle 13 Tibet Puzzle 14 Samuel Puzzle 15 Ebony Puzzle 16 Robin Williams Puzzle 17 Saved me Puzzle 18 Minecraft WE WON! Chat winners issue 40 (5 Oct 2023) £1,001 CASH P Kluge, Lewis £500 CASH C Brooks, Prestatyn P Daglish, Axminster £250 CASH N Garratt, Birchington D Hull, Newcastle upon Tyne £200 CASH E Robinson, Brackley £100 CASH C Eley, Wimborne J S Fox, Southampton J Todd, York £75 CASH S Minto, Newcastle-upon-Tyne £50 CASH J Tkaczuk, Leicester F Tierney, Isle of Benbecula JA Rowe, Bideford S McBride, Preston S March, Liverpool M Ferguson, Faringdon £40 CASH M Mackay, Gorebridge £30 CASH C Paddock, London S Richards, Redruth £25 CASH L…

TRUE-LIFE Vicky, 26, East London Hearing my phone ping, I put down my sandwich and grabbed my phone. ‘Another job,’ I said, thrilled. It was March 2021 and I'd recently registered on a recruitment app. After uploading my CV and photo, I'd got two cleaning jobs through it. Now, it looked like I might have got the massage therapist position that I'd applied for. The message was from a woman called Anna. Do you have experience? I replied, confessing that I didn't. Doesn't matter, you'll be taught how to do it, Anna messaged back. She explained I'd be given training for the job, based in hotels, with regular, private clients. Then she asked me to send her my measurements for the uniform. I gave them to her and turned to…

YOU'RE THE JUDGE! On a Friday evening in July 2019, gunshots exploded in the car park of a pizza takeaway in New Castle, Pennsylvania. Police raced to the scene. Found Darren Jevcak, a 17-year-old delivery driver, unconscious and bleeding on the tarmac. He had been shot multiple times. The shooter, Michael D'Biagio, then 41, was still at the scene, lying on the ground, his gun on the pavement next to him. He surrendered peacefully when he was arrested. Meanwhile, Darren was treated by paramedics before he was transferred to UPMC Jameson hospital. But it was too late. He was pronounced dead. Drug accusations The pizza shop owner and an employee told officers they'd heard shots before the teen dropped to the floor. The gunman – Michael – had continued to…

1 Breathe If you're panicking, your breaths become faster and shallower. NHS Inform recommends you ‘breathe in as slowly, deeply and gently as you can through your nose, and breathe out slowly, deeply and gently through your mouth’. 2 Use words If you're still struggling with breathing, try using affirmations to change your mindset. ‘It can be helpful to distract your mind and allow your breath to settle naturally,’ says Jenny Edwards, a counsellor at Unity Therapies. ‘To reduce your anxiety, a first step is to develop a quick, easy inner affirmation to say to yourself – a simple, “It's OK, I'm safe” is a good one.’ 3 Look around Grounding techniques can take away the focus from the struggle to breathe, says Jenny. ‘They include the 5-4-3-2-1 technique: find five things you can see;…

OVER TO YOU Can you set a puzzle in this format? Send it, with a photo of yourself, to the address on p4. There's £20 for every one we use! This week's puzzle was compiled by Christine Hamori, Whitefield, Manchester WIN 5x £20 Puzzle 6 ACROSS 1 Sediment 2 Wander 3 Ajar 4 Perky DOWN 1 Let go 2 Strong cord 3 Anytime 4 Chivalrous man Your answer: CHAIN WORDS The US investigative journalist known as Ronan Farrow has what actual first name? Get from Start to Finish, making words by joining two boxes together as you go, eg, RE + MIND, MIND +… you decide! When you reach Finish, two unused boxes join together to give you the prize answer. WIN 3x £50 Puzzle 7 Your answer: IN THE GRID Who won the Book of the…

WIN £100 Puzzle 14 The debut single Paint the Town Red was from which 2023 Doja Cat album? Solve the puzzle by following the arrows and writing in your answers. Then read down the letters in the shaded squares to find the prize answer. Your answer: FILL ME IN CIRCLE TIME In German, water can be euphemistically referred to as what animal's ‘wine’? Fit the words into the grid, then read down the letters in the shaded circles. 3 letters GAS GUM GUN GUT NUT TEN TUM TUN TUT 4 letters DOTE DUDS DUST SNUG STAT STUN 5 letters TACIT TEASE TOTAL TOTEM 6 letters NORMAL NOTATE NOUGAT NUDGED 7 letters NEAREST NECKTIE WIN £100 Puzzle 15 Your answer: TO ENTER Turn to page 56 for details or visit comps.lifedeathprizes.com/puzzles…

Top tip Whizz the discarded bread to crumbs and freeze for later use, or serve the chilli with jacket potatoes instead. Veggie chilli bread bowl There aren't many dishes where you can eat the bowl it came in! SERVES 4 PREP 25 MINS COOK 30 MINS ● 2tbsp olive oil ● 1 red onion, finely chopped ● 2 garlic cloves, chopped ● 1 red and 1 yellow pepper, deseeded and chopped ● 1 courgette, diced ● 1 red chilli, finely chopped ● 1tsp ground coriander ● ½tsp cumin seeds ● ½tsp hot smoked paprika ● 300g Quorn mince ● 75g sun-dried tomato paste ● 3tbsp tomato purée ● 400g tin chopped tomatoes ● 400g tin black beans ● 500ml hot vegetable stock ● 4 × 250g sourdough or cob loaves ●…

When I fell pregnant again in September 2015, I thought I had this motherhood malarkey nailed. My older children, then 13, 8 and 18 months, had arrived without a hitch. Another baby will be a doddle! I thought. I juggled mum duties with working in mental health as a care assistant, plus getting on with my Access course, retaking some GCSEs so I could apply to study nursing at uni. But, late in pregnancy, I suffered kidney problems and was induced three weeks early. A scary time as my baby Jake was whisked off to neonatal intensive care, in respiratory distress. ‘Will he be OK?’ I sobbed to you. He had pneumonia, his lungs struggling to function. I was terrified for him. But you reassured me, looked after me. ‘Get…